"LI  B  RAR.Y 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 

B 
G226u 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENT- 
ATIVES  ON  THE  EIGHTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 
OF  HIS  BIRTH  *  *  <a  MAY  6,  1916 


H.  Doc.  1092,64-1. 


House  Document  No.  1092      ...       Sixty-Fourth  Congress,   First  Session 


Joseph  Gurney  Cannon 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

on  the  EIGHTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

OF  HIS  BIRTH 


Saturday,  May  6,  1916 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1916 


On  motion  of  Mr.  Mann,  by  unanimous  consent, 

Ordered,  That  on  Saturday,  May  6,  1916,  immediately  after  the  reading 
of  the  Journal  and  the  disposition  of  business  upon  the  Speaker's  table, 
Mr.  Rodenberg  be  permitted  to  control  one  hour. 

(Order  agreed  to  March  16,  1916.) 


IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

May  8,  1916. 

Ordered,  That  ten  thousand  copies  of  the  proceedings  in  the  House  com- 
memorative of  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Hon.  JOSEPH  G.  CANNON 
be  printed,  with  his  portrait,  as  a  House  document  and  distributed  through 
the  folding  room  for  the  use  of  the  House. 

CLARENCE  A.  CANNON, 

Journal  Clerk. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

PRAYER  BY  REV.  HENRY  N.  COUDEN,  D.  D 7 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  WILLIAM  A.  RODENBERG n 

ADDRESS  OP  HON.  ISAAC  R.  SHERWOOD 17 

ADDRESS  OP  HON.  FREDERICK  H.  GILLETT 21 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  CLAUDE  KITCHIN 29 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  CHAMP  CLARK 35 

RESPONSE  OF  HON.  JOSEPH  G.  CANNON 45 


Prayer  by  the 

Rev.  Henry  N.  Couden,  D.  D. 

Chaplain  of  the  House 


Prayer  by  the  Chaplain 

bless  Thee,  our  Father  in  heaven,  for  every  life  that  has 
poured  itself  out  for  the  betterment  of  mankind,  whether  in 
science,  literature,  art,  statesmanship,  or  religious  endeavor;  for 
these  are  the  human  dynamos  that  move  the  wheels  of  progress 
toward  the  ideal  civilization  for  which  every  true  heart  longs, 
and  for  the  full  appreciation  accorded  to  such  men  in  the  hearts 
of  their  fellows.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  recognition  of  the  long 
and  faithful  service  of  one  who  stands  to-day  on  the  threshold  of 
his  eightieth  birthday,  who,  for  half  of  his  life,  has  been  a  con- 
spicuous figure  on  the  floor  of  this  House;  a  leader  wise  in  his  coun- 
sels, a  strong  advocate  of  every  measure  for  the  betterment  of  popular 
government,  known  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land 
for  his  strong  personality,  independent  thought  and  action,  affec- 
tionately esteemed  by  all  for  faithful  service  to  his  country.  May 
Heaven's  richest  blessing  attend  him  and  bring  him  at  last  to  that 
immortal  youth  where  a  fuller  service  waits  on  the  faithful.  So  may 
Thy  blessing  attend  every  Member  and  crown  his  efforts  with  suc- 
cessful service,  and  Thine  be  the  praise  forever.  Amen. 


Address  of 

Hon.  William  A.  Rodenberg 

of  Illinois 


41287°— 16 2 


HON.  JOSEPH  GURNEY  CANNON 


Hon.  Champ  Clark,  Speaker  of  the  House 

UNDER  a  special  order  of  the  House  made  some  time  ago, 
the  gentleman  from  Illinois  [Mr.  Rodenberg]  is  to  control 
one  hour,  and  he  is  now  recognized.     [Applause.] 

Hon.  William  A.  Rodenberg,  of  Illinois 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  If  all  sentiment  were  taken  out  of  life,  to  live 
would  not  be  worth  while.  Sentiment  rules  the  world  and  con- 
trols the  action  of  all  mankind.  Love  of  country,  devotion  to 
home  and  family,  friendship  for  our  fellow  man,  all  are  based 
on  sentiment.  It  is  one  of  the  divine  attributes  of  every  true 
and  manly  heart;  without  it  the  world  would  be  dreary  and 
desolate,  forever  lost  to  love  and  laughter.  It  fills  the  soul 
with  hope  and  joy  and  lifts  the  clouds  of  doubt  and  gloom.  It 
is  humanity's  greatest  boon,  for  it  brings  to  all  the  cheer  that 
makes  life  worth  the  living.  It  is  in  response  to  a  sentiment 
that  has  its  foundation  in  genuine  affection  that  we  meet  to-day 
to  do  honor  to  the  best-loved  Member  of  this  great  legislative 
body.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Speaker,  many  stirring  and  exciting  scenes  have  been 
staged  in  this  Hall.  Here  in  days  gone  by  many  of  the  Nation's 
greatest  men  have  engaged  in  intellectual  combat  and  the 
world  has  been  enriched  by  their  wit  and  their  wisdom.  To-day 
there  rise  before  us  again  the  towering  forms  of  Garfield  and 
Elaine,  of  Randall  and  Cox,  of  McKinley  and  Reed,  of  Crisp 
and  Carlisle,  and,  as  memory  reverts  to  some  of  the  great  his- 
toric scenes  enacted  here,  and  in  which  they  played  their  parts 
so  well,  our  blood  tingles  and  throbs,  and  we  thank  God  that 
it  has  been  our  good  fortune  to  have  had  service  in  this  House. 
[Applause.] 


Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Representatives 

I  am  now  concluding  my  seventh  term  as  a  Member  of  Con- 
gress, and  during  my  service  here  I  have  often  been  profoundly 
impressed  by  the  fact  that  nowhere  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
"survival  of  the  fittest"  better  exemplified  than  in  this  Cham- 
ber. Here  every  man  is  measured  at  his  real  worth,  and  the 
measurement  is  always  true  and  accurate.  The  House  has  no 
difficulty  in  separating  the  wheat  from  the  chaff,  and  is  as 
quick  to  applaud  merit  and  industry  as  it  is  to  condemn  sham 
and  pretense.  The  prestige  of  the  man  of  intellectual  integrity 
is  as  lasting  as  that  of  the  demagogue  is  fleeting. 

Leadership  in  this  House  is  never  accidental.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  always  natural  and  entirely  logical.  Length  of 
service  may  place  a  Member  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  great 
committees  of  the  House,  but  the  chairmanship  of  a  committee, 
no  matter  how  important,  does  not  carry  leadership  with  it. 
It  requires  something  else  to  be  a  leader  and  a  man  of  genuine 
influence.  The  real  leaders  in  a  legislative  body  such  as  this 
are  the  men  who  do  not  adjust  their  sails  to  catch  every  passing 
breeze,  but  who,  when  the  storms  of  criticism  beat  and  the 
waves  of  opposition  roll,  "stand  foursquare  to  all  the  winds 
that  blow,"  let  come  what  may.  [Applause.] 

If  there  be  one  such  man  among  us,  if  there  be  one  man  who 
has  steadfastly  pursued  the  path  of  public  duty,  and  who,  at 
all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  in  good  and  ill  report, 
has  had  the  superb  courage  to  give  expression  to  honest  con- 
viction, that  man  is  he  whom  we  delight  to  honor  to-day,  the 
grand  old  hero  of  a  thousand  legislative  battles,  JOSEPH  G. 
CANNON,  of  Illinois.  [Prolonged  applause.] 

For  almost  40  years  the  calcium  light  of  publicity  has  been 
turned  full  and  fair  upon  him;  and  the  stronger  and  the  brighter 
the  light,  the  more  it  has  served  to  reveal  to  all  the  world  those 
sterling  qualities  of  head  and  heart  that  have  given  him  an  en- 
during place  among  the  ablest  and  most  courageous  statesmen 
of  his  day  and  generation.  He  has  made  mistakes — of  course 
he  has.  To  err  is  human,  and  UNCLE  JOE  has  at  all  times  been 
intensely  human;  but  no  man,  living  or  dead,  ever  saw  him  lower 
his  colors  or  hoist  the  white  flag  of  surrender.  No  matter  how 
fast  or  furious  the  contest,  he  was  never  known  to  ask  for 


12 


Joseph  Gurney  Cannon   <5&    80th   Anniversary 

quarter,  but,  throwing  his  warlike  shield  before  him,  he  bade 
defiance  to  the  enemy,  shouting : 

Lay  on,  Macduff, 
And  damn'd  be  him  that  first  cries  "Hold,  enough!" 

[Applause.] 

Mr.  Speaker,  including  the  Continental  Congresses,  7,865  men 
have  served  in  the  various  Congresses  of  the  United  States,  and 
of  all  this  number  our  distinguished  friend  enjoys  the  unique 
distinction  of  having  had  the  longest  service  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.  The  record  shows  that  in  all  the  years  of  our 
national  existence  only  three  men  have  excelled  him  in  length 
of  legislative  service.  At  the  head  of  the  list  stands  Justin 
Smith  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  whose  service  in  House  and  Senate 
covers  a  period  of  43  years  9  months  and  24  days.  Next  comes 
William  Boyd  Allison,  of  Iowa,  whose  combined  service  in  the 
two  bodies  totals  43  years  and  5  months.  The  third  on  the  list 
is  William  Pierce  Frye,  of  Maine,  who  served  in  both  Chambers 
for  40  years  5  months  and  4  days.  And  then  comes  JOSEPH  GUR- 
NEY CANNON,  of  Illinois,  who,  upon  the  completion  of  his  present 
term,  will  have  been  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
for  40  years;  and  I  know  that  I  voice  the  sentiments  of  every 
man  in  this  Hall  when  I  express  the  hope  that  he  will  continue 
as  a  Member  of  this  body  until  he  has  established  a  record  for 
length  of  service  that  will  never  be  equaled  in  all  the  future  his- . 
tory  of  the  Republic.  [Applause.] 

UNCLE  JOE,  to-morrow  will  be  the  eightieth  anniversary  of 
your  birth.  Entertaining  for  you,  as  I  do,  the  deep  and  abiding 
affection  that  a  son  feels  for  his  father,  I  deem  it  an  honor 
indeed  to  have  been  selected  to  extend  to  you  on  this  happy 
occasion  the  felicitations  and  good  wishes  of  the  entire  member- 
ship of  this  House.  We  wish  you  full  measure  of  life's  pleasure 
to  the  end  of  your  days,  and  we  unite  in  the  fervent  hope  that 
it  will  be  many,  many  years  before  the  shades  of  night  begin  to 
fall;  and  when  they  do,  we  know  their  gloom  will  be  mellowed 
and  softened  by  the  golden  glow  that  radiates  from  the  halo 
that  crowns  and  glorifies  the  patriotic  life  of  a  great  American. 
[Prolonged  applause.] 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  Ohio  [Mr.  Sherwood] 
is  recognized.  [Applause.] 


Address  of 

Hon.  Isaac  R.  Sherwood 

of  Ohio 


Hon.  Isaac  R.  Sherwood,  of  Ohio 

MR.  SPEAKER :  Forty-three  years  ago,  when  I  was  on  earth 
for  the  first  time  [laughter],  I  drifted  into  this  Congress, 
that  being  the  first  term  of  the  distinguished  American  whose 
birthday  we  celebrate  to-day.  It  has  already  been  said,  better 
and  more  eloquently  than  I  am  capable  of  saying  it,  that  he  is 
the  most  remarkable  man  this  country  has  ever  produced,  count- 
ing his  service  in  public  life.  He  has  had  a  public  service  of  47 
years — 40  years  in  Congress — and  has  been  four  times  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives.  I  understand  that  UNCLE 
JOE  and  the  modest  Member  who  is  now  addressing  you  are  the 
only  surviving  Members  of  the  Forty-third  Congress  now  in  pub- 
lic life,  and  it  has  appeared  to  me  to  be  fitting  to  refer  to  some 
of  the  incidents  of  that  Congress,  because  we  were  called  upon 
to  deal  with  great  questions  growing  out  of  the  Civil  War,  ques- 
tions that  appealed  to  the  hearts  and  the  emotions  of  public 
men.  Gen.  Grant,  the  foremost  man  of  all  the  world,  was  start- 
ing on  his  second  term  as  President.  I  want  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  some  of  the  developments  in  science  and  social  ethics 
that  have  occurred  since  that  time.  I  remember  that  the  ap- 
propriation for  the  President  in  that  Congress,  for  salary  and 
for  upkeep  of  the  White  House,  was  $42,000.  President  Grant 
had  no  bodyguard,  no  military  aid.  We  Members  were  serving 
at  $5,000  a  year.  We  had  to  furnish  our  own  quarters.  We 
were  not  allowed  any  secretaries.  The  Speaker  had  no  parlia- 
mentary expert.  We  had  no  Hinds'  Precedents.  The  country 
had  no  automobiles.  We  had  no  wireless;  we  had  no  flying 
machine;  we  had  no  canned  music.  Edison,  the  wizard  of  the 
scientific  world  to-day,  had  not  yet  appeared.  We  had  no  elec- 
tric cars;  we  had  no  moving  pictures;  no  typewriting  machines. 
We  had  no  preparedness  talk  on  this  floor  [laughter] ;  we  had  no 
Calendar  Wednesday  [laughter];  we  had  no  Army  and  Navy 
League.  [Laughter.] 

We  had  no  twilight  tango. 

We  are  here  to-day  with  a  living  and  knock-down  argument 
against  the  theory  of  Dr.  Osier.  [Applause  and  laughter.]  It 


41287°— 16 3 


Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Representatives 

is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  man  who  has  reached  the  age  of 
80  years  has  reached  the  acme  of  his  intellectual  development. 
[Applause  and  laughter.]  Pope  Leo  XIII  and  John  Adams  were 
in  the  full  possession  of  their  intellectual  powers  at  90.  John 
Wesley  was  at  the  height  of  his  eloquence  and  at  his  best  at  88. 
Michael  Angelo  painted  his  greatest  single  picture  that  was  ever 
painted  since  the  world  began  at  80.  He  made  the  sky  and 
sunshine  glorious  with  his  brush  at  83.  Gen.  Von  Moltke  was 
still  wearing  the  uniform  at  88,  and  he  commanded  the  victo- 
rious German  Army  that  entered  the  gates  of  Paris  at  70. 
George  Bancroft  was  writing  deathless  history  after  80.  Thomas 
Jefferson,  Herbert  Spencer,  Talleyrand,  and  Voltaire  were  giv- 
ing out  great  ideas  at  80.  Tennyson  wrote  his  greatest  poem, 
"Crossing  the  Bar,"  at  83.  Gladstone  made  his  greatest  cam- 
paign at  80,  and  was  the  master  of  Great  Britain  at  83.  Hum- 
boldt,  the  naturalist,  scientist — the  greatest  that  Germany  ever 
produced — issued  his  immortal  Kosmos  at  90. 

I  saw  Joe  Jefferson  play  Rip  Van  Winkle  at  his  best  at  75. 
Goethe  wrote  Faust,  the  greatest  literary  achievement  in  all 
literature — the  masterpiece  of  literature— the  last  section — at 
80.  The  Irish  actor,  Macklin,  was  still  on  the  stage  at  99. 
Robert  Browning  was  as  subtle  and  mysterious  as  ever  at  77, 
and  Victor  Hugo  was  at  his  best  from  75  to  80. 

We  will  concede  that  UNCLE  JOE  has  passed  the  period  of 
adolescence  [laughter]  and  that  he  has  reached  the  age  of  dis- 
cretion. You  will  all  concede  with  me  that  the  best  effort  of 
his  life  was  undoubtedly  his  oration  on  Abraham  Lincoln,  which 
was  delivered  in  this  Congress.  He  has  not  reached  the  acme 
of  his  intellectual  development ;  that  will  come  later.  [Laughter 
and  applause.]  When  he  delivers  his  masterpiece  in  this  Cham- 
ber or  in  a  larger  forum,  I  hope  I  may  be  present  with  ears  erect 
to  hear  or  eyes  alert  to  read.  [Laughter  and  continued  ap- 
plause.] 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  Wisconsin  [Mr.  Cooper] 
will  take  the  chair.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  COOPER  of  Wisconsin  took  the  chair  as  Speaker  pro 
tempore. 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore.  The  Chair  will  recognize  the  gen- 
tleman from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Gillett].  [Applause.] 


18 


Address  of 

Hon.  Frederick  H.  Gillett 

of  Massachusetts 


Hon.  Frederick  H.  Gillett,  of  Massachusetts 

MR.  SPEAKER:  I  am  the  only  person  in  the  House  who 
ever  served  on  the  Appropriations  Committee  when  Mr. 
CANNON  was  its  chairman.  To  my  mind  that  was  the  most  glori- 
ous and  useful  part  of  his  career.  Perhaps  my  opinion  is  biased 
by  the  fact  that  as  we  grow  older  we  are  less  impressionable, 
and  that  when  I  was  younger  I  was  more  of  a  hero  worshiper; 
but  to  me,  even  when  he  sat  omnipotent  in  the  Speaker's 
chair  and  tried  to  be  dignified  and  judicial  and  nonpartisan, 
and  to  regulate  this  disorderly  and  sometimes  turbulent  assem- 
bly, he  was  not  so  imposing  as  when  he  was  on  the  floor,  sure 
to  be  in  the  center  of  any  conflict,  contributing  in  no  small 
measure  to  the  heat  and  violence  and  interest  of  the  debate, 
ready  always  to  "ride  the  tempest  and  direct  the  storm." 
[Applause.] 

To  see  him  in  his  glory,  you  should  have  seen  him  as  chair- 
man of  Appropriations,  in  the  thick  of  the  fray,  without  manu- 
script or  notes,  but  all  ablaze  with  energy,  now  entertaining 
the  House  with  his  quaint  conceits  and  now  convincing  them 
with  his  powerful  and  ingenious  arguments. 

That,  to  my  mind,  was  the  sphere  where  his  abilities  shone 
to  the  best  advantage.  He  is  by  nature  a  floor  leader.  He  has 
the  courage,  the  fearlessness,  and  that  quickness  of  mind  and 
of  tongue  accelerating  under  fire,  which  make  a  man  effective 
on  this  floor. 

Those  of  you  who  have  come  here  this  session  can  have  little 
appreciation,  it  seems  to  me,  of  what  the  American  Congress 
has  sometimes  been  and  what  it  may  be  again.  Everything 
this  year  has  run  so  smoothly  and  amiably — there  has  been 
so  little  bitterness  and  belligerency — that  it  is  difficult  to  realize 
the  contests  of  the  past.  Our  Speaker  is  so  genial  and  so  pop- 
ular with  both  sides  [applause],  the  minority  leader  cooperates 
so  heartily  with  his  kindly  spirit,  and  the  issues  which  thus  far 
have  arisen  have  contained  so  little  to  excite  passion  that  we 
seem  to  be  sailing  on  an  eternal  summer  sea.  I  hope  it  may 
always  continue  so  serene.  [Applause.] 


Proceedings   in  the  House  of  Representatives 

But  it  was  in  a  very  different  atmosphere  that  Mr.  CANNON 
was  trained.  It  was  different  when  I  first  came  here.  I  can 
remember  when  the  air  of  this  Chamber  seemed  surcharged 
with  animosity,  and  there  were  occasions  when  it  seemed  as 
if  the  two  sides  of  the  House  were  so  hostile  and  furious  that 
they  might  at  any  moment  rise  against  each  other  in  forcible 
collision. 

And  yet  I  suppose  during  my  service  it  has  been  calm  com- 
pared with  what  preceded  it.  I  suppose  in  the  Fifty-first  Con- 
gress party  heat  reached  its  extreme.  It  needed  then  dauntless 
courage  and  unfaltering  poise  to  be  a  successful  leader.  And 
it  was  in  that  Congress  I  have  always  understood  that  Mr. 
CANNON  really  won  his  indisputable  right  to  be  at  the  front.  In 
that  historic  contest  over  the  rules  it  was  on  him  that  Speaker 
Reed,  the  most  powerful  and  formidable  figure  I  have  ever  seen 
within  these  walls,  leaned  for  his  most  reliable  and  effective 
support. 

I  came  here  23  years  ago.  I  suppose  many  of  you  think,  as  I 
know  some  ambitious  men  in  my  district  have  long  thought, 
that  12  terms  are  an  unconscionable  time  for  anyone  to  serve. 
[I/aughter.]  But  when  I  arrived  here  Mr.  CANNON  could  look 
back  nearly  as  far  as  that  to  the  commencement  of  his  service. 
He  was  in  his  prime.  In  debate  his  directness,  his  shrewdness, 
his  brightness  of  illustration,  and  his  gymnastics  always  at- 
tracted universal  attention.  I  remember  being  told  that  once 
when  he  was  making  a  speech  with  his  customary  vigor,  rising 
on  his  toes  and  prancing  up  and  down  the  aisle,  Mr.  Reed  called 
out  to  him,  sotto  voce,  "JOE,  are  you  making  this  speech  on 
mileage  ? ' '  [Laughter.  ] 

But  while  his  peculiarities  of  manner  attracted  attention, 
they  were  but  the  publicity  agents  for  the  real  power  and 
originality  of  his  arguments.  No  one  knew  better  than  he  how 
to  appeal  to  both  the  judgment  and  the  prejudices  of  the  House. 
His  quick  and  fertile  mind  not  only  grasped  and  developed  all 
the  intrinsic  force  of  the  argument  but  also  took  advantage  of 
the  foibles  and  self-interest  of  his  audience.  He  did  not  simply 
argue  the  merits  of  the  proposition  but  he  fought  strenuously 
to  make  his  side  prevail.  He  made  speeches,  not  to  circulate 


Joseph    Gurney    Cannon    S&    80th    Anniversary 

in  his  district  or  to  win  applause,  but  to  win  votes,  and  if  he 
could  not  succeed  the  cause  was  hopeless. 

The  chairman  of  the  Appropriations  Committee  generally  has 
the  unpopular  side,  for  he  is  generally  fighting  for  economy. 
I  do  not  believe  it  is  simply  the  natural  prejudice  of  my  own 
membership  which  makes  me  feel  that  a  spirit  of  economy 
always  permeates  that  committee  far  more  than  any  other  com- 
mittee of  the  House.  Now  is  not  the  time  to  discuss  the  reason 
for  it,  which  would  be  interesting. 

But  ever  since  I  have  been  here  the  chairman  of  that  com- 
mittee has  been  the  watch  dog  of  the  Treasury  and  the  champion 
of  retrenchment.  Mr.  CANNON  filled  that  r61e  preeminently, 
but  with  a  good  nature,  a  practical  common  sense,  a  sagacious 
judgment  of  the  temper  of  the  House,  and  a  prudent  mitigation 
of  abstract  justice  by  personal  necessities  which  won  him  ex- 
traordinary success.  He  was  ready  to  compromise  when  he 
thought  it  wise  and  reasonable,  but  he  never  shunned  a  fight, 
and  he  never  surrendered  till  every  resource  was  exhausted. 
The  adversary  who  anticipated  an  easy  victory  just  because  he 
had  the  popular  side  had  little  appreciation  of  the  persistence, 
the  knowledge,  and  the  resourcefulness  of  Mr.  CANNON.  He 
was,  of  course,  sometimes  beaten,  but  he  often  won  where 
another  would  not  have  dared  to  fight. 

When  I  first  came  to  Congress  I  had  a  strong  prejudice 
against  him.  But,  as  I  watched  his  leadership,  the  time  came 
When  if  I  suddenly  had  to  vote  on  a  question  of  which  I  knew 
nothing,  there  was  no  man  in  the  House  whom  I  would  follow 
so  confidently  as  him. 

In  committee  he  was  alert,  wise,  timesaving,  and  he  had  that 
charming  quality  so  appreciated  by  ambitious  younger  men,  of 
giving  them  plenty  of  opportunity  to  show  their  powers.  He 
never  tried  to  monopolize  the  chances  of  distinction,  but  shared 
them  generously  with  his  lieutenants. 

I  trust  he  will  not  think  it  disparaging  if  I  say  that  he  is  a 
debater  rather  than  an  orator.  You  will  recall  that  in  the 
golden  days  of  English  eloquence  Edmund  Burke,  who,  in  my 
opinion,  wrote  the  finest  orations  ever  produced,  said  of  his 


Proceedings   in   the  House   of   Representatives 

rival,  Charles  James  Fox,  that  he  was  "the  most  brilliant  and 
accomplished  debater  the  world  ever  saw." 

Some  of  Fox's  friends  took  umbrage  at  the  phrase,  and 
thought  the  word  "debater"  did  not  do  him  justice.  But  I  am 
not  sure  it  is  not  quite  as  complimentary  as  "orator."  A  de- 
bater like  Mr.  CANNON  measures  his  strength  squarely  with 
his  opponent,  asks  no  time  for  preparation,  but  is  always  ready, 
and  must  rely  on  his  native  powers  to  repel  assaults,  grapple 
with  his  antagonist,  and  from  a  hand-to-hand  contest  win  his 
laurels.  The  orator  at  leisure  ponders  and  develops  and  elabo- 
rates his  material.  In  the  one  case  you  see  the  engine  at  work 
and  can  measure  its  actual  force;  in  the  other  you  see  only  the 
result. 

It  always  seemed  to  me  Mr.  CANNON  had  not  the  taste,  if  he 
had  the  capacity,  for  elaborate  preparation.  He  seemed  to  need 
the  stimulus  of  a  fight  to  arouse  his  faculties.  Then  he  could 
summon  his  resources  with  unfailing  facility,  and  showed  a 
readiness,  an  astuteness,  a  variety,  and  a  vigor  which  were 
marvelous. 

Of  course  he  was  prepared,  in  the  sense  that  he  knew  all 
about  his  subject,  for  he  was  a  most  thorough  and  thoughtful 
student  of  the  questions  which  came  before  him.  But  he  never 
seemed  to  make  any  special  preparation  for  his  speeches,  but 
to  trust  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment,  which  has  brought  the 
downfall  of  so  many  would-be  orators,  but  which  never  failed 
him.  Indeed,  I  think  his  example  was  a  bad  influence  on 
young  men  by  discouraging  preparation.  I,  like  other  New 
England  boys,  was  brought  up  to  believe  that  the  price  of  suc- 
cess was  industry.  I  always  had  dinned  into  my  ears  the 
verse — 

The  heights  which  great  men  reached  and  kept, 

Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight; 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night. 

Since  I  have  known  him  Mr.  CANNON'S  "toiling  in  the  night" 
has  not  been  exclusively  over  his  congressional  duties  [laughter], 
and  yet  his  mind  always  seems  saturated  with  knowledge  of  the 
varied  subjects  which  come  before  us. 


Joseph    Gurney    Cannon    <o&    80th    Anniversary 

As  he  moves  among  us  now,  kindly,  sedate,  respected,  be- 
loved— a  sort  of  perpetual  statesman  emeritus,  bearing  his  80 
years  more  lightly  than  anyone  I  ever  saw — he  is  an  honor  and 
a  blessing  to  the  American  Congress;  but  I  shall  always  cherish 
most  the  memory  of  the  dauntless,  resourceful,  militant  head 
of  the  Appropriations  Committee,  defending  the  National  Treas- 
ury against  all  comers,  fearlessly,  tenaciously,  judiciously,  and 
with  a  success  I  have  never  seen  paralleled.  [Applause.] 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore.  The  gentleman  from  North 
Carolina  [Mr.  Kitchin]  is  recognized.  [Applause. 


41287°— 16 4 


Address  of 

Hon.  Claude  Kitchin 

of  North  Carolina 


Hon.  Claude  Kitchin,  of  North  Carolina 

MR.  SPEAKER:  I  count  it  a  real  privilege  and  pleasure  to 
participate  in  these  ceremonies  to-day.  I  believe  the 
House  honors  itself  more  than  it  honors  the  distinguished 
gentleman  from  Illinois  [Mr.  CANNON]  in  taking,  amid  its  busy 
labors,  this  hour  to  celebrate  the  eightieth  birthday  of  a  man 
who,  in  my  judgment,  is  the  most  marked  and  unique  character 
that  has  sat  in  either  end  of  the  Nation's  Capitol  for  the  last 
half  century.  [Applause.]  I  am  going  to  say  in  public  here 
now  what  I  have  a  hundred  times  said  in  private,  that  of  all 
the  public  men  whom  I  have  ever  met  the  gentleman  from 
Illinois  is  the  most  remarkable  and  possesses  the  strongest, 
most  practical  common-sense  intellect. 

I  remember  when  I  first  came  here,  15  years  ago,  he  impressed 
me  more  particularly  as  being  a  big  man  than  any  other  man 
in  the  House.  I  sat  here  in  my  seat  for  three  years  without 
ever  opening  my  mouth  on  the  floor  of  this  House,  and  that 
is  somewhat  remarkable,  it  seems  to  me  now  [laughter],  but  I 
had  an  idea  that  it  was  wiser  for  me  at  first  to  hear  and  see 
rather  than  be  heard  and  seen.  During  that  time  I  was  an 
intent  observer,  sizing  up  the  men  in  this  body.  Outside  of 
partisan  politics  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  impressed  me  as 
being  the  wisest  legislator  in  the  House.  I  have  said  that,  too, 
a  hundred  times,  and  I  have  really  not  seen  much  since  then  to 
change  my  opinion.  [Laughter  and  applause.]  But  when  it 
came  down  to  partisan  questions  and  partisan  politics,  and 
especially  when  his  blood  was  up — Good  Lord,  deliver  us. 
[Laughter.]  And,  Mr.  Speaker,  his  partisanship  was  not  con- 
fined to  men  on  the  Democratic  side  of  the  House,  either.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  and  remarkable  debates  I  ever  witnessed 
in  this  House  was  between  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  [Mr. 
CANNON]  and  a  gentleman  on  that  side  of  the  Chamber  who  is 
now  deceased,  Col.  Pete  Hepburn,  which  occurred  some  12  or 
13  years  ago,  when  the  bill  for  the  construction  of  the  inter- 
oceanic  canal  was  under  consideration.  The  question  then  was 
whether  we  should  build  a  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 


Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Representatives 

or  along  what  was  known  as  the  Nicaraguan  route.  The  com- 
mittee had  reported  unanimously  in  favor  of  the  Nicaraguan 
route.  Mr.  Hepburn  was  chairman  of  the  committee,  and,  of 
course,  strongly  advocated  the  Nicaraguan  route.  Only  a  few, 
led  by  the  gentleman  from  Illinois,  favored  the  Panama  route. 
I  had  seen  many  heated  courthouse  contests  between  lawyers, 
but  I  never  witnessed  anything  more  interesting  and  exciting 
than  that  debate  between  these  two  gentlemen.  Mr.  Hepburn 
was  right-handed  and  Mr.  CANNON  was  left-handed,  both  on 
their  feet  most  of  the  time,  within  a  step  or  two  of  each  other, 
their  arms  waving  about  as  if  in  a  pugilistic  contest.  It  was 
a  fur-flying  debate,  but  a  great  debate.  I  will  never  forget  it. 
Two  giants  were  wrestling  with  each  other  in  intellectual 
combat.  The  House  has  had  few  men  equal  as  a  debater  to 
Col.  Hepburn.  He  was  a  strong,  forceful,  resourceful  man. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  heard  Mr.  CANNON  in  several  debates; 
I  have  seen  him  in  action  in  the  House  for  a  number  of  years; 
I  have  seen  him  confront  serious  and  critical  situations  often; 
but,  in  my  opinion,  the  time  when  he  loomed  up  bigger  and 
stronger  and  braver  than  ever  was  during  those  two  nights  and 
two  days'  fight  over  what  we  called  Cannonism — on  the  Norris 
resolution — in  the  Sixty-first  Congress.  I  never  saw  a  man  in 
my  life  who  stood  forth  such  a  complete  master  of  the  situation. 
He  rode  the  very  whirlwinds  and  directed  the  storms  for  his 
party.  While  many  harsh  things  on  this  side  and  many  on 
that  side  were  spoken  during  those  two  days  and  nights  of  the 
hottest  and  most  exciting  contest  the  House  has  witnessed  in  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  I  never  saw  the  gentleman  from  Illinois 
lose  his  temper  or  his  head  for  one  moment.  He  was  courteous, 
cool,  courageous,  and  determined  to  the  last  to  do  what  he 
started  out  to  do  the  very  first  moment  the  fight  began.  He 
was  going  to  hold  the  House  here  and  not  make  a  decision  upon 
the  question  of  order  pending  until  the  Republican  whip  had 
gathered  in  from  all  quarters  of  the  United  States  every  single 
Republican  Member  of  this  House,  and  he  knew  exactly  how 
each  would  vote.  Just  as  soon  as  he  ascertained  that  every 
Republican  who  would  vote  on  his  side  was  here  in  the  House, 
without  sleep  for  two  days  and  nights,  he  rapped  the  House 


Joseph   Gurney   Cannon    $&    80th   Anniversary 

to  order  and  calmly  said,  "The  Chair  is  ready  to  rule."  [Ap- 
plause.] And  he  ruled  against  us,  of  course.  [Laughter  and 
applause.]  In  all  the  conflicts  in  his  long  and  eventful  career 
as  a  Member  of  the  House,  some  of  them  bitter  and  severe,  he 
stood  out  always  before  the  eyes  of  friend  and  foe  the  embodi- 
ment of  courage,  of  directness,  of  integrity.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  think  this  occasion  illustrates  the  truth  of 
what  I  heard  the  minority  leader  say  some  time  ago,  that  while 
that  aisle  separated  the  Democrats  from  the  Republicans  it 
did  not  divide  the  hearts  of  the  men  in  this  House.  [Applause.] 
It  does  not  divide  our  respect,  confidence,  esteem,  and  affection 
for  each  other.  There  are  men  on  that  side  of  the  House  whom 
I  regard  with  as  much  esteem,  admiration,  respect,  and  af- 
fection as  on  this  side,  and  no  doubt  that  is  the  case  with 
most  of  us  on  either  side  of  the  aisle.  We  differ  on  questions 
of  policy  for  the  country,  on  what  we  call  political  principles, 
but  we  do  not  differ  in  our  loyalty  and  love  and  devotion  to 
our  country  and  our  flag,  and  in  our  respect,  esteem,  and  affec- 
tion for  one  another.  When  I  was  a  great  deal  younger  than 
I  am  now,  I  used  to  think  that  the  good  folks  were  all  in  the 
Democratic  Party  and  the  bad  folks  all  in  the  Republican  Party. 
I  used  to  think  that  the  big  Republicans  in  Washington  had 
horns  and  that  they  were  all  reaching  out  with  both  hands 
toward  somebody  else's  pocket.  But,  gentlemen,  since  I  have 
served  in  this  House  I  have  found  so  many  good  and  splendid 
fellows  in  the  Republican  Party  that,  individually,  I  am  willing 
to  admit  that  it  is  a  pretty  good  party.  Collectively — well,  I 
am  not  profane  and  will  not  be  unparliamentary;  but,  anyway, 
since  my  association  with  these  splendid  Republicans  here  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a  Republican  is  never  danger- 
ous to  a  good  Democrat — except  in  an  election  [laughter  and 
applause],  and  never  harmful  to  the  public — except  in  office. 
[Laughter.] 

In  the  Sixty-first  Congress  we  had  a  lot  of  talk  about  "Can- 
nonism."  I  believe  the  best  speech  I  ever  made  in  the  House 
was  on  "Cannonism."  That  was  not  a  fight  against  Mr.  CAN- 
NON; it  was  a  fight  against  a  system  which  the  rules  created 
and  which  he  inherited  from  former  Congresses,  and,  perhaps, 


Proceedings   in   the  House  of  Representatives 

from  Democratic  Congresses,  too,  as  well  as  Republican  Con- 
gresses. I  said  at  the  time  that  we  were  making  a  fight  against 
the  rules  and  the  power  which  the  rules  gave  the  Speaker, 
called  then  "Cannonism,"  not  against  Mr.  CANNON;  that  the 
rules  then  in  force  had  been  in  force  in  both  Republican  and 
Democratic  Congresses,  and  only  a  weak  man,  without  courage, 
would  have  done  less  than  the  distinguished  gentleman  from 
Illinois  if  exigencies  demanded.  When  the  rules  of  the  House 
put  into  the  hands  of  one  man  the  life  and  death  of  all  legisla- 
tion and  all  procedure  and  made  him  more  powerful  than  even 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  any  strong,  intellectual, 
courageous  man  would  have  exercised  that  power,  whether  he 
was  a  Democrat  or  a  Republican,  under  the  conditions  that  then 
confronted  the  party  in  control.  Since  then,  as  the  gentleman 
from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Gillett]  says,  we  have  come  to  smooth 
and  better-tempered  times,  when  most  of  us  vote  alike  and 
think  alike  on  many  questions.  When  the  people  made  a  change 
in  the  House,  why,  we,  with  the  approval  of  many  gentlemen 
on  that  side,  changed  the  rules,  and  we  never  hear  of  "Can- 
nonism" now,  but  we  are  proud  and  glad  to  hear  to-day  of 
"CANNON."  [Applause.]  We  are  glad  to  know,  too,  that  every 
heart  that  beats  within  these  walls  is  hoping  and  praying  that 
we  shall  have  the  happiness  on  many  and  many  another  birth- 
day of  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  to  meet  here  in  his  presence 
and  do  him  honor.  [Loud  applause.] 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore.  The  Chair  recognizes  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives.     [Ix>ud  applause.] 


Address  of 

Hon.  Champ  Clark 

Speaker  of  the  House 


33 


Hon.  Champ  Clark,  of  Missouri,  Speaker  of  the  House 

MR.  SPEAKER  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  HOUSE:  This  per- 
formance here  to-day  reminds  me  of  one  in  which  Mr. 
Speaker  CANNON  and  myself  participated  five  or  six  years  ago 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  About  six  months  after  Mark  Twain 
died  they  memorialized  him  in  Carnegie  Hall  before  an  im- 
mense audience.  The  chairman  was  Dr.  William  Dean  Howells. 
The  speakers  were  Joseph  H.  Choate,  Henry  Van  Dyke, 
"Marse"  Henry  Watterson,  Mr.  Speaker  CANNON,  George  W. 
Cable,  and  myself.  I  believe  if  Mark  Twain  knew  what  was 
happening  that  that  was  exactly  the  kind  of  a  crowd  he  would 
have  elected  to  have  participated  in  his  funeral  exercises.  We 
did  not  do  anything  for  four  mortal  hours  except  crack  jokes 
and  tell  anecdotes.  I  think  this  hour  and  a  half  is  well  spent. 
[Applause.]  It  shows  the  House  in  its  most  pleasing  phase. 

Mr.  Speaker,  this  Government  has  existed  127  years  under 
the  Constitution — a  brief,  fleeting  period  in  the  existence  of  a 
nation,  but  longer  than  the  span  of  life  vouchsafed  to  any  of 
the  latter-day  sons  of  Adam.  We  are  engaged  in  celebrating 
the  birthday  of  the  only  man  in  our  history  who  has  been 
elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives  20  times — a  unique 
achievement,  which  may  be  duplicated  in  the  next  127  years, 
but  probably  will  not.  Such  a  record  can  be  made  only  under  a 
rare  and  peculiar  set  of  circumstances :  First.  The  constituency 
must  remain  in  the  same  poh'tical  faith  during  two  score  years. 
Second.  The  man  himself  must  be  as  constant  as  the  northern 
star  and  be  possessed  of  unusual  endowments,  mentally  and 
physically.  Third.  His  constituency  must  have  such  faith  in 
him  as  would  remove  mountains. 

Mr.  Speaker  CANNON  is  now  well  into  his  fortieth  year  in  the 
House,  and  is  in  fine  fettle  in  both  body  and  mind — at  which  we 
all  rejoice.  [Loud  applause.] 

Only  three  men  have  exceeded  him  in  length  of  service  in 
Congress,  and  they  only  by  adding  their  House  and  Senate 
service  together.  Justin  Smith  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  sat  12 

35 


Proceedings   in   the  House  of   Representatives 

years  in  the  House  and  31  years,  9  months,  and  24  days  in  the 
Senate — a  total  of  43  years,  9  months,  and  24  days — while 
William  Boyd  Allison,  of  Iowa,  served  8  years  in  the  House  and 
35  years  and  5  months  in  the  Senate — a  total  of  43  years  and 
5  months,  and  William  P.  Frye,  of  Maine,  who  served  10  years, 
and  13  days  in  the  House  and  30  years,  4  months,  and  20  days 
in  the  Senate — a  total  of  40  years,  5  months,  and  3  days.  Thus 
it  will  be  seen  that  Merrill  tops  them  all  by  4  months  and  24 
days. 

William  Ewart  Gladstone  served  53  years  in  the  British 
House  of  Commons.  I  am  by  no  means  certain  that  his  service 
was  the  longest  in  that  body.  Over  there,  however,  they  begin 
younger  than  we  do.  Charles  James  Fox,  perhaps  the  greatest 
parliamentary  orator  that  ever  lived,  entered  the  House  of 
Commons  at  19,  and  the  younger  William  Pitt  at  about  the 
same  age.  Another  thing  that  tended  for  length  of  service 
there  was  the  old  and  condemned  borough  system,  whereby  a 
duke  or  earl  or  viscount  would  take  a  fancy  to  some  bright 
youngster  and  practically  appoint  him  to  a  seat  in  the  Com- 
mons— an  agreeable  custom,  but  not  promotive  of  the  public 
welfare,  and  now  happily  fallen  into  "innocuous  desuetude." 

Henry  Clay,  the  most  renowned  of  all  Speakers,  served  the 
longest  time  in  the  Speaker's  chair,  being  elected  for  six  full 
terms,  resigning  twice,  with  a  total  actual  service  of  10  years 
and  245  days,  although  the  Capitol  guides  will  have  it  that  he 
served  1 2  years — a  historic  fable. 

Mr.  Speaker  CANNON  comes  next  with  four  full  terms — eight 
years — and  if  the  political  complexion  of  the  House  had  not 
changed  he  would  in  all  probability  be  in  his  fourteenth  year  in 
the  chair,  thereby  exceeding  the  record  of  "The  Great  Ken- 
tuckian."  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Speaker  Stevenson  of  Virginia  was  elected  for  four  full 
terms,  but  in  the  middle  of  his  fourth  term  he  resigned  both 
as  Speaker  and  as  Member  of  the  House,  having  been  nominated 
as  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the 
Court  of  St.  James  by  President  Jackson;  but  alack!  and  also 
alas!  a  refractory  Senate  refused  to  confirm  his  nomination  for 
more  than  a  year,  during  which  time  he  was,  like  Mohammed's 


Joseph    Gurney    Cannon    •&    80th    Anniversary 

coffin,  suspended  betwixt  heaven  and  earth.  At  last  the  Jack- 
son men  became  strong  enough  in  the  Senate  to  confirm  him 
and  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing,  having  learned  a  lesson  about 
premature  resignations  which  he  probably  never  forgot  and 
which  added  somewhat  to  his  stock  of  wisdom. 

Mr.  Speaker  CANNON  and  Gen.  Sherwood  were  both  first 
elected  to  Congress  at  the  November  election  in  1872,  when 
under  the  lead  of  Horace  Greeley  the  Democrats  met  with  a 
crushing  disaster,  from  which  they  recovered  in  1874^  only  two 
years  later,  and  swept  the  country  from  sea  to  sea.  Speaker 
CANNON  has  served  under  10  Presidents — Grant,  Hayes,  Gar- 
field,  Arthur,  Cleveland,  the  younger  Harrison,  McKinley,  Roose- 
velt, Taft,  and  Wilson.  Presidents  come  and  Presidents  go,  but 
he,  like  Tennyson's  brook,  goes  on  forever. 

James  Gillespie  Elaine,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  all  the 
Speakers  [applause],  administered  the  oath  to  him  upon  his 
entrance  here.  While  the  Speaker's  term  is  two  years  and  the 
presidential  term  is  four,  he  has  seen  the  same  number  of  Presi- 
dents in  the  White  House  and  Speakers  in  the  chair,  10 — Elaine, 
Kerr,  Randall,  Kiefer,  Carlisle,  Reed,  Crisp,  Henderson,  CANNON, 
and  Clark. 

When  he  was  first  elected  only  about  a  dozen  of  the  present 
Members  could  vote.  Many  were  in  their  swaddling  clothes, 
trying  to  achieve  the  first  acrobatic  feat  any  of  us  and  all  of 
us  ever  essayed — to  get  our  big  toe  into  our  mouth.  [Laughter.] 
A  majority  of  the  Members  were  then  unborn.  What  an  as- 
tounding amount  of  history  has  been  made  in  this  country  in 
the  44  intervening  years,  all  of  which  he  saw  and  part  of  which 
he  was ! 

I  am  glad  that  Mr.  Speaker  CANNON  made  his  great  speech 
on  the  immigration  bill  recently — for  it  was  a  great  speech — glad 
on  his  account,  glad  on  my  own  account;  glad  most  especially 
on  account  of  you  newer  Members  who  have  come  into  the  House 
in  the  last  13  years;  glad  that  you  had  the  opportunity  of  not 
only  hearing  but  seeing  him  as  James  Steerforth  wished  to  be  re- 
membered, "at  his  best."  We  are  all  James  Steerforths  in  that 
regard.  J.  B.  McCullough,  long-time  editor  of  the  St.  Louis 
Globe-Democrat,  once  said  that  he  had  often  thought  that  had 


Proceedings  in  the  House  of   Representatives 

there  been  present  a  man  who  could  see  but  could  not  hear  and 
one  who  could  hear  but  could  not  see  when  Roscoe  Conkling 
delivered  his  superb  speech,  nominating  Gen.  Grant  in  the 
famous  Chicago  convention  of  1880,  he  believed  that  the  deaf 
man  who  could  see  would  have  derived  as  much  pleasure  from 
Conkling's  performance  as  the  blind  man  who  could  hear.  I 
confess  that  seeing  Mr.  Speaker  CANNON  in  action  has  always 
interested  me  quite  as  much  as  what  he  said.  [Laughter  and 
applause.]  He  has  always  appeared  to  me  to  be  made  up  chiefly 
of  spiral  springs.  [Laughter.]  I  saw  him  once  do,  while  speak- 
ing, a  thing  that  I  doubt  if  any  other  speaker  ever  duplicated 
since  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  Babel.  In  the  heat  of  debate 
I  saw  him  make  a  complete  circle  on  his  heel.  [Laughter.] 

He  is  one  of  the  strongest  rough-and-tumble  debaters  I  ever 
heard  or  tackled.  He  belongs  to  the  topnotcher  class  of  mental 
pugilists.  He  hits  and  hits  hard,  but  never  below  the  belt.  I 
remember  with  pleasure  now — though  not  so  pleasant  then — 
that  in  the  first  real  debate  in  which  I  ever  participated  in  the 
House  he  catechized  me  in  extenso.  It  was  a  red-hot  political 
debate — a  cut  and  thrust  affair — on  the  repeal  of  the  Federal 
election  law.  I  had  not  been  here  more  than  two  months,  and 
was  ambitious  to  break  into  the  limelight,  or,  as  the  Kaiser  would 
say,  to  achieve  "a  place  in  the  sun."  [Laughter.]  I  did  it  on 
that  occasion,  largely  by  aid  of  Mr.  Speaker  CANNON,  though  I 
entertain  serious  doubt  whether  he  intended  assisting  a  rampant, 
greenhorn  Democratic  Congressman,  for  the  billows  of  politics 
ran  mountain  high  at  that  time. 

Fight  in  those  brave  days  of  old  ?  Of  course  we  did — many  of 
us,  tooth  and  nail,  hammer  and  tongs.  Scars?  All  who  par- 
ticipated in  those  fierce  conflicts  bear  them — honorable  scars,  all 
in  front ;  none  of  us  escaped  unscathed.  Sometimes  we  fought 
over  political  principles,  sometimes  about  governmental  busi- 
ness, and  sometimes  by  reason  of  what  Caesar  denominates  cer- 
taminis  gaudium — the  sheer  joy  of  combat.  Once  Speaker 
CANNON  was  in  the  full  tide  of  speech  when  I  interrupted  him, 
and  he  waved  or  shoved  me  off  by  saying,  "Oh!  Not  now.  I 
will  attend  to  the  Missouri  Cyclone  presently" — which  he  did, 
and  I  came  near  having  fastened  onto  me  the  sobriquet  borne 


Joseph    Gurney    Cannon    <5&    80th    Anniversary 

now  and  for  many  years  by  the  gentleman  from  Texas  [Mr. 
Davis].  [Laughter  and  applause.] 

Mr.  DAVIS  of  Texas.  Amen !     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CLARK  of  Missouri.  On  another  occasion  I  had  the  floor, 
and  when  Speaker  CANNON  interrupted  me  I  conferred  upon  him 
the  alliterative  title  of  "The  Dancing  Dervish  of  Danville"; 
but  out  of  it  all  we  came  forth  good,  warm  personal  friends, 
and  will,  in  the  language  of  the  wedding  ceremony,  so  remain 
"  'till  death  do  us  two  part." 

Fame  is  the  scentless  sunflower  with  gaudy  crown  of  gold, 
But  friendship  is  the  treasure  rose,  with  sweets  in  every  fold. 

In  1894  there  was  the  worst  slaughter  of  the  innocents  since 
the  reign  of  King  Herod.  I  was  one  of  the  victims  of  that  awful 
landslide.  I  remember  with  gratitude  that  Speaker  CANNON 
was  the  first  person  who  suggested  to  me  that  I  might  come  back. 
He  spoke  and  predicted  from  experience. 

On  the  day  a  few  weeks  ago  when  the  bill  authorizing  the 
Government  to  take  over  the  title  deeds  to  the  land  in  Kentucky 
on  which  stands  the  splendid  memorial  building  covering  and 
protecting  the  humble  log  cabin  in  which  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
born,  we  witnessed  a  pleasing  and  amazing  spectacle — Mr. 
Speaker  CANNON,  80  to-morrow,  and  Gen.  Sherwood,  some 
months  his  senior,  straight  as  arrows,  lithe  as  men  of  50,  de- 
livering speeches  which  thrilled  our  hearts;  and  the  strangest 
feature  of  that  remarkable  scene  was  that  these  two  well-beloved 
octogenarians  read  whatever  they  wanted  to  read  without 
glasses!  Verily,  like  Moses,  the  master  lawgiver  of  all  the 
centuries,  their  eyes  are  not  dimmed  nor  their  natural  force 
abated.  [Applause.] 

For  a  long  time  people  poked  fun  at  the  Scotch  theory  of  "sec- 
ond sight" ;  but  on  the  occasion  to  which  I  refer  we  had  the  best 
sort  of  evidence  that  these  two  veterans  have  received  their 
"second  sight" — "  the  ocular  proof"  which  Othello  demanded. 
In  passing,  it  may  be  apropos  to  state  that  one  of  the  finest 
couplets  in  our  vernacular  grew  out  of  the  Scotch  theory  of 
"second  sight"  conferring  the  gift  of  prophecy: 

'Tis  the  sunset  of  life  gives  me  mystical  lore, 
And  coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before. 


39 


Proceedings  in   the  House  of  Representatives 

When  I  first  read  those  splendid  lines  as  a  college  student 
they  appeared  to  me  so  fine  that  I  wanted  to  read  the  con- 
text. Somehow  I  got  it  into  my  head  that  Alexander  Pope  was 
the  author  and  read  all  his  works  to  find  them,  which  I  did  not 
do  for  the  all-sufficient  reason  that  he  never  wrote  them.  They 
are  in  Thomas  Campbell's  poem  "Lochiel";  but  my  time  spent 
in  reading  Pope  was  profitably  spent.  He  polished  his  poems 
'till  they  glitter  as  a  gem,  and  he  excelled  all  poets  in  making 
couplets  or  quatrains,  each  conveying  an  idea  complete  within 
itself.  I  committed  hundreds  of  them  to  memory,  greatly  to 
my  advantage. 

While  Speaker  CANNON  was  delivering  his  Lincoln  speech,  I 
noted  what  a  remarkable  profile  resemblance  there  is  in  his 
face  and  Lincoln's,  just  as  there  is  a  striking  resemblance  in 
the  face  of  my  good,  dear  friend,  Maj.  Stedman,  of  North 
Carolina,  and  the  face  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee. 

Mr.  Speaker  CANNON  owes  it  to  himself  and  to  his  country- 
men to  write  a  book  of  reminiscences,  Job's  vengeful  declara- 
tion, "  Oh !  that  mine  adversary  had  written  a  book,"  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding.  Evidently  the  Man  of  Uz  did  not  have 
in  his  mind's  eye  Theodore  Roosevelt  and  Woodrow  Wilson  when 
he  gave  voice  to  that  far-resounding  and  malicious  desire. 

There  are  two  other  distinguished  Americans  who  owe  it  to 
themselves  and  the  country  to  write  books  of  reminiscences — 
Senator  Chauncey  Mitchell  Depew,  the  incorrigible  optimist, 
and  "  Marse  "  Henry  Watterson,  the  last  of  that  marvelous  school 
of  editors  of  whom  Horace  Greeley,  George  D.  Prentice,  James 
Gordon  Bennett  the  elder,  Henry  J.  Raymond,  Shadrack  Penn, 
Thurlow  Weed,  and  Samuel  Bowles  were  the  founders.  What 
books  these  three  men  could  write  for  our  instruction  and 
delight!  They  would  be  eagerly  read  by  untold  and  unborn 
thousands  so  long  as  this  Republic  endures,  which  we  all  fondly 
pray  will  be — • 

Forever  and  forever, 
As  long  as  the  river  flows, 
As  long  as  the  heart  hath  passions, 
As  long  as  life  hath  woes. 

[Applause.] 


40 


Joseph    Gurney   Cannon    <5&    80th    Anniversary 

We,  one  and  all,  most  cordially  and  affectionately  congratulate 
Mr.  Speaker  CANNON  on  attaining  the  Psalmist's  extreme  allot- 
ment of  four-score  years  and  upon  having  that  which  should  ac- 
company old  age,  "As  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops  of  friends  " ; 
and  we  hope  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  that  he  will  live 
many  years  full  of  usefulness,  happiness,  and  prosperity.  [Pro- 
longed applause.] 

Mr.  MANN.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  ask  unanimous  consent  that  the 
Speaker  may  recognize  my  colleague,  Mr.  CANNON.  [Applause.] 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore  (Mr.  Cooper  of  Wisconsin).  The 
Chair  feels,  as  he  was  about  to  say  when  the  gentleman  from 
Illinois  [Mr.  Mann]  arose,  that  he  voices  the  earnest  wish  of 
every  Member — Republican,  Democrat,  Progressive,  Socialist, 
Catholic,  Protestant,  Jew,  and  Gentile — in  expressing  the  hope 
that  the  distinguished  gentleman  from  Illinois  [Mr.  CANNON] 
will  now  address  the  House.  [Applause.] 


Response  of 

Hon.  Joseph  G.  Cannon 

of  Illinois 


43 


Hon.  Joseph  G.  Cannon,  of  Illinois 

MR.  SPEAKER  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRE- 
SENTATIVES: It  is  pleasant  for  an  old  man  to  meet  his 
fellows  in  the  public  service,  to  look  in  their  faces,  and  feel 
that  they  accord  to  him  the  same  honesty  of  purpose  that 
they  claim  for  themselves. 

And  yet,  upon  this  occasion,  if  you  will  bear  with  me  for  a 
few  moments,  I  recollect  a  story  that  John  O'Neill  told  me 
many  years  ago.  He  was  an  Irishman  who  represented  a  St. 
Louis  district,  and  he  had  all  the  brightness,  wit,  and  humor 
that  Irishmen  generally  have.  One  day,  sitting  in  the  cloak- 
room, when  the  conversation  was  running,  he  said,  "When  I 
was  at  home  last  week,  having  leave  of  absence  for  a  few  days, 
an  Irish  client  of  mine  was  about  to  die.  He  had  no  relatives 
in  this  country,  and  all  his  relatives  in  Ireland  had  crossed 
over,  and  he  sent  for  me  to  write  his  will.  I  had  been  his 
attorney.  He  gave  so  much  for  the  repose  of  his  soul,  so  much 
to  this  hospital,  and  so  much  to  that  hospital,  and  so  much  for 
various  charities.  He  knew  exactly  what  he  had,  and  I  wrote 
the  will  and  read  it  over  to  him,  and  he  discovered,  when  he 
came  to  make  the  addition,  that  there  was  $10  left  over  that 
had  not  been  disposed  of." 

O'Neill  said  the  dying  Irishman  realized  that  his  time  was 
short  and  asked  if  there  was  time  to  write  the  will  over.  O'Neill 
said  to  him,  "Oh,  I  can  fix  it  all  right.  I  will  just  put  in  what 
we  call  a  'codicil.'  What  do  you  want  to  do  with  the  $10?" 
He  thought  a  minute  and  said,  "I'll  not  be  knowin'  what  I 
want  to  do  with  the  $10  exactly — but,  yes;  it  can  be  invested 
in  whisky,  to  be  drank  at  my  funeral."  "Going  or  returning?" 
asked  O'Neill.  "Going,  of  course.  I'll  be  wid  'em,  then." 
[Laughter.] 

Brother  Sherwood,  you  and  I  came  into  this  House  together, 
elected  in  1872.  I  have  been  here  more  of  the  time  than  you 
have,  but  I  think  you  have  been  doing  as  good  service,  and 
probably  better  than  I  have.  You  are  my  senior  in  years, 


45 


Proceedings  in   the  House  of  Representatives 

and,  looking  in  your  eye,  I  appreciate  your  friendship.  We 
were  political  friends  when  we  served  in  the  Forty-third  Con- 
gress. We  are  political  opponents  now,  but  really  I  think  I 
respect  and  love  you  as  much  as  it  is  lawful  for  one  man  to  love 
another.  [Applause  and  laughter.] 

These  doctors  have  made  great  progress  in  medicine  and 
surgery.  Why,  with  the  bloodletting  that  there  was,  with  the 
thrust  of  a  lancet  that  obtained  in  the  West  while  the  West 
was  being  settled,  and  the  10  grains  of  calomel  and  10  grains 
of  jalap — you  know  it  would  kill  people  if  it  was  administered 
now — and  the  great  doses  of  quinine,  and  so  on.  That  was 
heroic  treatment.  [Laughter.]  In  medicine  and  surgery  the 
world  has  progressed  more  in  your  time  and  mine  than  it  did 
in  the  whole  history  of  the  race,  from  Eden  down  to  your  time 
and  mine.  They  talk  now  about  being  on  the  eve  of  discov- 
ering a  medicine  or  elixir,  or  something,  that  will  make  us  all 
live  to  be  at  least  150  years  old.  I  want  them  to  hurry  up, 
Brother  Sherwood.  [Laughter.] 

Always  there  have  been  during  my  service  here,  Mr.  Speaker, 
and  I  -believe  there  always  will  be  in  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives, fierce  contests  touching  policies,  and  no  truer  thing 
was  said  by  those  who  have  preceded  me  than  when  they 
said,  quoting  the  minority  leader  [Mr.  Mann],  that  while  this 
side  of  the  aisle  contested  with  that  side  of  the  aisle,  after  the 
partisanship  passed,  and  even  while  it  was  on,  we  had  as  many 
friends  on  your  side,  and  you  as  many  friends  on  our  side  that 
would  go  as  far  outside  of  the  partisanship  or  the  policies  to 
serve  one  another,  as  we  have  upon  our  respective  sides. 
[Applause.] 

The  scene  here  to-day  is  a  sample  of  the  partisanship  of  the 
House.  I  can  say  with  the  psalmist,  "The  lines  have  fallen 
unto  me  in  pleasant  places";  and  as  I  look  into  the  faces  of 
friends  on  both  sides  of  the  House  I  am  more  inclined  to  accept 
the  plain  evidence  of  fact  than  the  popular  and  picturesque 
fiction  which  divides  this  body  into  partisan  groups  on  all 
questions,  shuts  out  personal  relations  and  the  cooperation  of 
Representatives,  regardless  of  party,  to  work  out  in  legislation 
the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number. 


Joseph    Gurney    Cannon    <5£    80th    Anniversary 

We  should  not  be  human  if  we  did  not  disagree  at  many 
points,  and  there  would  be  no  work  for  Congress  if  there  were 
not  many  men  of  many  minds  in  the  country.  We  are  sent 
here  as  the  Representatives  of  those  people  who  have  different 
ideas  as  to  Government  activities,  and  we  must  here  thrash 
out  these  differences,  whether  pleasant  or  unpleasant,  for 
harmony  can  not  always  be  produced  out  of  the  conflicts  of 
the  people,  even  by  the  best  of  friends.  My  own  experience 
here  inclines  me  to  the  view  expressed  by  Charles  Lamb,  that 
he  could  not  hate  the  man  he  knew,  rather  than  to  the  old 
proverb  that  "Biting  and  scratching  is  the  Scots'  wooing." 

One  of  my  earliest  friends  on  this  floor  was  Alexander  H. 
Stephens,  who  returned  to  the  House  when  I  came  as  a  new 
Member.  I  had  heard  of  the  man  who,  as  vice  president  of  the 
Confederacy  was  the  ablest  adversary  of  Lincoln,  and  I  had 
opinions;  but  here  on  the  floor  and  in  the  hotel  where  we  both 
lived  I  came  to  know  him  as  a  man  as  different  from  my 
opinions,  formed  by  reading  the  war  news,  as  are  my  opinions 
of  the  archangel  and  the  archdemon  of  the  universe. 

So  it  has  been  through  the  years;  and  to  me  partisanship 
means  the  necessary  contests  over  policies  by  which  the  Republic 
must  be  governed.  There  are  no  personalities  in  partisan- 
ship, and  men  who  meet  face  to  face  and  discuss  different 
political  views  are  less  arbitrary  in  their  views  than  are  those 
who  read  headlines  and  fear  that  the  House  has  fallen  to  a  low 
estate,  where  party  advantage  is  the  one  aim  and  effort. 

I  have  seen  some  changes  in  partisan  politics.  When  I  came 
here,  believing  in  nationalism,  I  was  impressed  with  the  State 
rights  doctrine  of  some  of  the  men  on  that  side,  and  I  remember 
a  speech  by  Randolph  Tucker,  of  Virginia,  in  opposition  to 
Randall's  bill  to  loan  fifteen  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  the 
Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition. 

Mr.  Tucker  warned  the  House  against  stretching  the  welfare 
clause  of  the  Constitution.  He  said  it  would  be  an  advertise- 
ment, inviting  any  clever  man  who  had  an  idea  about  spending 
Government  money  for  the  general  welfare  to  come  to  Congress, 
and  it  would  not  be  long  before  we  were  crowded  off  our  stools 
by  the  lobbyists  who  wanted  to  get  their  hands  into  the 


47 


Proceedings   in   the   House  of   Representatives 

Treasury.  Mr.  Tucker,  then,  turning  to  Randall,  shouted  a 
final  warning  that  should  that  appropriation  be  made  Chicago 
and  even  Yorktown  would  some  day  come  for  aid  to  an  expo- 
sition. Well,  they  both  came,  and  many  others,  and  Mr. 
Tucker's  son  was  president  of  the  Jamestown  Exposition. 
That  is  only  an  example  of  some  of  the  changes  that  have  come 
about  the  use  of  Government  money  to  promote  the  general 
welfare.  We  have  had  quite  a  spell  of  it  in  the  consideration 
of  the  Agriculture  appropriation  bill. 

In  our  partisanship  we  have  not  been  as  keen  for  party  ad- 
vantage as  is  often  represented.  There  was  Gen.  Benjamin  F. 
Butler,  who  was  a  stormy  petrel  of  American  politics,  if  we 
have  had  one,  and  he  is  remembered  as  the  author  of  the  civil- 
rights  bill,  which  caused  such  a  storm  of  indignation  through- 
out the  South.  But  Gen.  Butler  was  also  the  chairman  of  the 
Judiciary  Committee  which  reported  and  put  through  the 
House  the  amnesty  bill,  which  removed  the  political  disabilities 
from  many  thousands  of  southern  men. 

And  this  leads  me  to  suggest  that  it  was  not  party  advantage 
which  inspired  this  side  of  the  House  when  in  control  to  pass 
amnesty  bills  which  in  a  large  measure  gave  control  to  that 
side;  nor  was  it  party  advantage  which  led  that  side  when  in 
the  majority  to  propose  an  electoral  commission  to  find  a  judi- 
cial method  for  settling  the  great  controversy  over  the  Presi- 
dency. You  lost  by  that  machinery;  but  it  was  your  own 
creation,  and  its  creation  was  inspired  by  patriotic  motives  to 
save  the  country  from  another  civil  strife. 

May  I  here  cast  a  doubt  on  another  popular  fiction  in  which 
a  former  Member  was  the  hero  ?  I  refer  to  the  story  which  has 
even  got  into  some  political  histories,  that  Col.  Watterson 
organized  an  army  of  100,000  stalwart  Democrats  to  march  on 
Washington  and  by  force  place  Mr.  Tilden  in  the  White  House. 
I  have  always  doubted  the  correctness  of  that  story,  because 
Col.  Watterson  was  a  Member  of  the  House  at  that  time  and 
was  here  using  his  influence  and  his  diplomacy  to  work  out  a 
peaceful  solution  of  that  controversy.  He  was  one  of  the  best 
losers  I  ever  saw.  When  the  report  of  the  commission  on  the 
Oregon  vote  was  adopted,  Col.  Watterson  made  a  short  speech 


48 


Joseph    Gurney   Cannon    <£    80th    Anniversary 

in  which  he  expressed  his  disappointment  over  the  impending 
decision  and  described  the  blue-grass  region  in  springtime, 
where  the  flowers  were  the  signals  of  God's  love  and  bounty, 
giving  assurance  that  the  heavens  should  not  be  robbed  of 
their  sunshine,  the  earth  of  its  fruition,  nor  the  future  of  hope. 

That  was  at  the  end  of  February  and  the  beginning  of  March, 
1877.  The  Democrats  thought  Tilden  was  elected,  and  we 
Republicans  thought  Hayes  was  elected.  There  was  a  real  con- 
test at  the  polls  and  a  real  contest  as  to  which  was  elected. 
You  were  in  good  faith,  and  we  were  in  good  faith.  You  car- 
ried the  country  and  had  a  Democratic  House,  which  you 
elected  in  1874 — strongly  Democratic.  It  was  a  Republican 
Senate.  The  4th  of  March  was  approaching,  and  in  that  Demo- 
cratic House,  presided  over  by  Samuel  J.  Randall,  with  such 
Democrats  as  Ben  Hill  and  Randolph  Tucker — noted  men,  both 
North  and  South — there  originated  on  that  side  the  legislation 
which  was  agreed  to  by  the  Senate  for  the  electoral  commis- 
sion— five  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  five  Members  of  the 
Senate,  and  five  Members  of  the  House. 

You  supposed  you  would  have  a  majority  of  one.  You  sup- 
posed that  David  Davis,  one  of  the  five  judges,  would  be  on 
your  side.  That  would  have  given  you  a  majority  of  one. 
But  two  days  before  that  commission  was  appointed  Gen. 
Logan,  contesting  for  reelection  to  the  Senate,  was  defeated  by 
Justice  Davis,  and  that  put  Justice  Davis  out.  So  Justice 
Bradley  was  selected,  and  he  threw  the  casting  vote.  It  was 
settled,  but  it  did  not  turn  out  as  you  expected  it  would  turn 
out.  But  it  was  patriotically  acquiesced  in. 

I  recollect  very  well  what  Col.  Watterson  said  when  they 
commenced  to  filibuster  on  that  side  of  the  aisle  with  a  motion 
to  adjourn,  and  a  motion  to  adjourn  to  a  day  certain,  alternat- 
ing one  motion  with  the  other,  as  they  could  do,  under  the  rules 
of  the  House  as  they  then  existed,  as  long  as  a  man  could  stand 
and  make  the  motion.  Watterson  said: 

I  shall  join  in  no  movement  to  obstruct  the  progress  of  the  presidential 
count.  We  have  had  enough  of  anarchy. 

[Applause.] 


49 


Proceedings   in   the  House  of  Representatives 

I  never  shall  forget  the  scene  before  the  electoral  count  was 
completed,  when  Speaker  Randall  rose  in  his  place,  when  it 
was  necessary  that  action  should  be  had  to  a  point  of  order 
being  made  on  the  motion  under  the  rule,  and  declared  that  it 
was  a  filibuster  and  dilatory  and  that  the  Constitution  pro- 
vided for  the  count  of  the  electoral  vote.  He  sustained  the 
point  of  order,  and  then  in  the  House  we  did  have  pandemonium 
for  some  time.  [Laughter.]  But  the  count  was  made. 

So  I  have  found  the  partisanship  of  this  House  throughout 
these  40  years  sometimes  warm  and  vigorous,  but  largely  mixed 
with  patriotism  and  much  common  sense;  no  barriers  in  the 
center  aisle  to  prevent  men  from  crossing  that  partisan  line, 
and  no  prohibition  against  meeting  in  the  lobby  or  the  cloak- 
room and  talking  it  over  in  private.  It  has  been  to  me  a 
pleasant  and,  I  hope,  a  profitable  experience. 

There  are,  so  far  as  I  know,  only  six  of  my  colleagues  in 
the  Forty-third  Congress,  which  assembled  here  43  years  ago, 
still  living.  They  are  my  friend  and  colleague,  Gen.  Sherwood, 
on  this  floor;  ex-Senator  Eugene  Hale,  of  Maine;  ex-Secretary 
of  Agriculture  James  Wilson,  of  Iowa;  Gerry  W.  Hazelton,  of 
Wisconsin;  William  H.  H.  Stowell,  of  Virginia;  and  John  R. 
Lynch,  of  Mississippi.  All  others  who  sat  in  that  Congress 
have  crossed  over  to  the  beyond.  Many  of  those  who  were  my 
associates  in  succeeding  Congresses  have  also  answered  the  last 
call,  and  I  am  here  among  those  of  the  second  generation,  fol- 
lowing in  the  footsteps  of  their  fathers  and  here  giving  the 
best  service  of  which  they  are  capable  to  the  welfare  of  their 
country. 

If  I  sometimes  see  the  faces  and  hear  the  voices  of  others  not 
now  here  to  answer  the  roll  call,  I  may  not  be  charged  with 
dreaming,  for  among  these  3,000  men  with  whom  I  have  been 
associated  in  legislative  efforts  and  over  partisan  contests  there 
were  hosts  of  personal  friends  of  whom  I  never  thought  as 
Republicans  or  Democrats,  except  as  we  discussed  different 
policies.  These  men  had  their  hour  on  this  stage,  did  their 
work  in  their  time,  as  you  are  doing  it  now,  following  in  the 
line  of  precedent;  here  amending  where  changes  in  conditions 
make  it  necessary,  but  not  attempting  to  uproot  and  reconstruct 


Joseph    Gurney    Cannon    <®    80th    Anniversary 

the  whole  fabric  of  the  people's  law.  And  when  I  see  ghosts  in 
this  Chamber  I  am  not  frightened,  for  they  typify  the  spirit  of 
a  representative  democracy  as  truly  as  do  the  words  and  works 
of  those  who  laid  the  foundation  of  this  Government  in  the 
beginning. 

Who  could  fear  the  ghosts  of  Elaine  and  Randall?  Of  old 
Alexander  H.  Stephens  and  Henry  L.  Dawes,  of  Ben  Butler  and 
George  F.  Hoar,  of  Sunset  Cox  and  Tom  Platt,  of  Fernando 
Wood  and  William  A.  Wheeler,  of  Charles  O'Neill  and  Pig-iron 
Kelley,  of  Holman  and  Tyner,  of  Beck  and  Blount,  of  Bland  and 
Mills,  of  Garfield  and  Morrison,  of  Jerry  Rusk  and  Philetus 
Sawyer,  of  Stephen  B.  Elkins  and  George  Q.  Cannon,  of  Ben 
Hill  and  Gen.  Banks,  of  Proctor  Knott  and  David  B.  Culber- 
son,  of  John  H.  Reagan  and  Randolph  Tucker,  of  Tom  Reed 
and  John  G.  Carlisle,  of  McKinley  and  Frank  Kurd,  of  Nelson 
Dingley  and  William  L.  Wilson,  of  Crisp  and  Henderson,  and 
the  hosts  of  others  whose  names  are  familiar  to  you  or  to  any 
who  know  the  history  of  our  country  ? 

There  are  now  more  great  men  and  more  great  women  in  the 
United  States  than  there  ever  have  been  in  the  past  history  of 
the  Republic.  Some  one  asks,  "Where  are  they?"  And  I  an- 
swer, They  are  everywhere,  following  their  vocations;  but  when 
necessary,  whether  it  be  in  Congress  or  in  civil  life,  or  upon 
the  bench,  in  the  State  legislature;  whether  it  be  in  diversify- 
ing the  industry  of  the  country  and  carrying  on  the  business  of 
the  country,  whether  it  be  following  the  plow  or  working  in  the 
machine  shop,  there  will  be  found  more  people  capable  for  self- 
government  and  ready  to  defend  the  flag  than  there  ever  have 
been  since  the  discovery  of  America.  [Applause.] 

Is  there  humor  in  the  House  of  Representatives  ?  Yes.  The 
first  notoriety  I  ever  obtained  in  this  House  and  in  the  country 
was  by  the  aid  of  Sunset  Cox,  who  came  into  Congress  from  Ohio, 
and  then  from  New  York.  A  great  man  was  Cox.  He  had  a 
versatile  mind.  He  was  full  of  humor.  One  day  he  was 
"running  amuck,"  attacking  the  Republican  side,  as  only  he 
could.  We  were  cheering  him  at  times  on  both  sides,  and  some- 
times there  was  gnashing  of  teeth  on  this  side.  [Laughter.] 
Finally  he  made  a  remark  about  a  constituent  of  mine  who  had 


10JN01S  LI 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBAN* 


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